Variety of workshops planned for Mental Heath Week

By Bailey Zimmer

Join Skillful Start and Prima Care Family Health Team in creating healthy minds and happy spirits with mental health week from May 1 to 5

For five years, PrimaCare has recognized and put on events for mental health week to coach, encourage and empower those encountering obstacles surrounding mental health. This year will be no different with many different events to choose from.

“A big part of PrimaCare's goal is to also be able to reach out to the community and serve as a resource, whether it's a fun event or an educational workshop,” said Jennifer Smith, Administrative Assistant at PrimaCare.

The events will be held in the PrimaCare facility at 201-25 Curtis Ave North in Paris and will be free of charge as this is a non-forprofit organization. While these events are free of charge for attendees, funding comes mostly from donation from local businesses or through donation from staff at PrimaCare. The Canadian Mental Health Organization has chosen the theme “My Story” for their mental health week and Skillful Start and PrimaCare have chosen to focus on self care. These two organizations recognize mental health and wellness takes continuous attention and are eager to help people achieve their mental health goals.

Child and Youth Counsellor at Skillful Start, Carling Mitchell, is ready for the week to begin and to see community participation in these events.

“We are very excited to welcome the youth and parents of our community in for these impactful sessions,” said Mitchell. “We acknowledge the gift of their time and are mindful of the courage it can take to attend an in-person event, try something new and be vulnerable. We are so passionate about the mental wellness needs of our youth and are striving to make the most of this time together and provide a positive and encouraging experience for all.”

This year will include speaker events open to any members of the public. This series will include topics such as

‘Anxiety in Older Adults’, ‘Mind Masters’ for children aged four to twelve, ‘’Mental Resilience’ ‘Mind Masters’ for ages 12 to seventeen and ‘Nurturing your Child’s Mental Health’.

‘Anxiety in Older Adults’ will take place on May 1 from 10 a m to 11:30 a m and will help demonstrate techniques in reducing anxiety in adults and those around them. On May 2 and 4 at 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., ‘Mind Masters’ will focus on self growth, positive coping strategies, self regulation and self worth.

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On May 3 from 6 p.m. to 7p.m., this event will be directed toward first responders and public servants and will surround the discussion of goal setting, positive talk and tactical breathing. To finish the week on May 5 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. will be a dropin session for parents wanting to learn how to build their child’s resilience and nurture their mental health while creating healthy family practices.

“Events like these are only possible when people work together,” said Mitchell “The members of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Mental Health Week Committee volunteer so much of their individual time and resources to bring this week to fruition. Agencies, businesses and individuals coming together with the common goal of offering safe spaces, open conversations and the opportunity to listen, learn and connect It’s inspiring to say the least.”

As mental health week is always the first week of May, PrimaCare tries to organize events for each day of the working week.

“We have partnered with many mental health organizations this year, as I am on the Mental Health Week Committee, run by Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services, so we are very excited to see how these events turn out,” said Smith. These organizations will also be hosting a giveaway for a basket full of self care tools for the whole family. Many local organizations have donated snacks, money and prizes to help with this

“These events are meant to promote self care, raise awareness of the growing stigma,” said Smith. The biggest setback the organizations are dealing with is spreading the word for the events and having people register but all event organizers are hopeful for the turnout.

Smith and Mitchell are excited for the events to commence and spread awareness and normalize mental health struggles and help individuals deal with them in a resourceful way

“Mental wellness is a spectrum and it’s something that every single person possesses and moves through throughout their lives. It’s something that affects literally everyone And yet we continue to hold a stigma about acknowledging when we are struggling and need help,” said Mitchell.

“We may not be able to eliminate the factors that challenge our mental wellness but we absolutely can open the door to conversations, share our stories, normalize that we aren’t “ok” all the time, prioritize the self care and skillful habits that will develop resilience and empower the next generation to continue changing the narrative on mental health.”